Oakland Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon pats owner Al Davis on the back after he announced his retirement during a news conference at Raiders training camp on 8/6/05 in Napa, Calif.
PAUL CHINN/The Chronicle

Oakland Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon pats owner Al Davis on the back after he announced his retirement during a news conference at Raiders training camp on 8/6/05 in Napa, Calif.
PAUL CHINN/The Chronicle

Photo: PAUL CHINN

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Oakland Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon setup to throw from the pocket during the second quarter against the Denver Broncos on Monday night, Nov. 11, 2002, in Denver. . (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) ALSO RAN 11/07/03 CAT less

Oakland Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon setup to throw from the pocket during the second quarter against the Denver Broncos on Monday night, Nov. 11, 2002, in Denver. . (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) ALSO RAN ... more

Rich Gannon's mind, his arm, his legs and his heart desperately wanted this to be the beginning of his 19th year in the NFL.

His injured neck, with a fragile vertebra still mending following a vicious helmet-to-helmet tackle in Week 3 of the 2004 season, conspired to end his rags-to-riches football career before he was ready.

So Gannon, the fiery four-time Pro Bowler and 2002 NFL Most Valuable Player, reluctantly but officially closed the book on his playing days Saturday before a crowd of teammates, coaches and friends during an emotional ceremony at the team's training headquarters in Napa.

"As far as the decision to retire, it was an easy one for me. It really was not my decision," said Gannon, 39, who has signed with CBS Sports as a game-day analyst for their NFL broadcasts and has other television and radio opportunities before him. "I'm not able to continue to play physically, and that really takes all of the guesswork out of it.

"For a player like myself, who still feels that he's got enough left in his tank and enough left in his arms and legs to continue to play, unfortunately, my neck will not allow me to continue my career."

Serious injuries -- twice he underwent surgery for career-threatening shoulder tears -- sought to derail Gannon throughout an 18-year career in which he passed for 28,743 yards and 180 touchdowns for the Vikings, Redskins, Chiefs and Raiders.

Was it any coincidence that in his final two seasons in Oakland in 2003- 04, when Gannon played a combined 10 games and finished both years on injured reserve (torn labrum, fractured neck), the team deteriorated and won a combined nine games?

All Gannon knows is that it's difficult to tear himself away.

"I want to stay involved in this game in some capacity," said Gannon, who often attended team meetings and traveled to games last season wearing a rigid neck collar, all the while seeking doctors' opinions about whether he should continue playing.

Eventually, he may return to the organization as a coach or administrator. "I think that I want to stay involved with the Raiders in some capacity," said Gannon, respectful of an organization that gave him a home after so many vagabond seasons. "I plan on doing that. I cannot get away from it."

Across the NFL, Gannon's successful tenure with the Raiders -- particularly the stretch from 1999-'02, when he completed more than 60 percent of his passes for 15,787 yards and 105 touchdowns -- finally earned him the Pro Bowl berths and national recognition he thought he deserved.

In 2002, when Gannon was voted the NFL's MVP, he led the Raiders to Super Bowl XXXVII and passed for 4,689 yards and 26 touchdowns while completing more than 67 percent of his passes.

Raiders owner Al Davis saw the quarterback's upwardly mobile career track mimic that of the team, as Oakland progressed from 8-8 in 1999 under coach Jon Gruden to 12-4 in 2000, then 10-6 in '01 -- the year of the "Tuck Rule" playoff loss at New England -- to 11-5 and a Super Bowl berth in '02 under coach Bill Callahan.

"That's what I mean by work ethic." Davis said "Who hurts when you lose, who it really, really bothers them when you lose. And I think (Gannon) is a sore loser. But so am I. And so were the great quarterbacks -- sore losers. I think you have to be that way."

That fabled work ethic -- Gannon's predawn arrival at the Raiders' then- Alameda training facility to study film was only eclipsed by Gruden's all- night stints in front of the video machine -- and intense desire for perfection often rankled less-driven teammates. His fiery on-field reactions to broken plays or losses made an impression on anyone who encountered the quarterback, even if Gannon himself said he was considered nothing special for much of his career.

"You know, six years ago, in 1999, I was really a journeyman quarterback, " said Gannon, a fourth-round pick out of Delaware in 1987 who resisted the pro scouts' efforts to convert him to defensive back. "I had played in the league 11 or 12 years, never really felt like I was given an opportunity or a chance to really be an everyday player."

Teammates often groaned at Gannon's impassioned speeches about winning, or his tirades and tantrums. The true believers, however, understood their quarterback was simply demanding victory, for everyone.

"Rich could see a guy's potential, and he wanted them to recognize it as well," said Pro Bowl punter Shane Lechler, whose locker was next to Gannon's for five seasons. "He may have ruffled a few feathers here and there, but he got the job done. It didn't bother Rich. That was part of the game that he played. Everybody liked to follow him, and it seemed to work out for him."

Davis would get word of the grumbling about his quarterback and simply smile.

"We used to hear a little bit, 'The players are getting upset with Rich. He's on them too much.' And, boy, I raised my hand and said, 'Amen. Go ahead.' Because, I believe you have to get on them, from time to time -- not the players on the Raiders now ... they are all standing back there," Davis said with a laugh, pointing to the 17 Raiders crowding the back of the ballroom.

"But you have to drive people. You have to earn their respect by winning, and that's what I thought he had."

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